Will January 2 be considered a non-working day? The discussion sparked controversy

The Permanent Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly approved the draft law on amendments to the Republic of Armenia's law on "Holidays and Remembrance Days" prepared by the government in its second reading. The changes stipulate that non-working days for the New Year celebrations will be from December 31 to January 2, inclusive, and on January 6.

“We want to propose an amendment to include January 2 in the list of non-working days in the second reading,” said Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan.

Member of the National Assembly from the “Armenia” parliamentary group, Aghvan Vardanyan, reminded that they had suggested leaving January 2 and January 7 as non-working days. He also recalled that the Mother See had proposed that January 5 and January 7 should also remain non-working.

“The Ministry of Economy highly values state-private dialogue; the project was discussed in the Ministry’s SME sub-council and during meetings with various associations. Nevertheless, the philosophy we placed in this amendment is aimed at moving forward with this version,” said Kerobyan.

“In fact, the Ministry of Economy has not responded to the proposals of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Mother See,” reacted Aghvan Vardanyan.

Aram Vardevanyan from the “Armenia” group also emphasized that a legal culture should be established where proposals from the Mother See should be earnestly considered for discussion.

“The Mother See cannot assume the functions of legislative power, but it can be a guiding force through its authority and voice. I thought that such a statement and proposal presented by the Mother See should hold significant importance,” said the opposition MP.

According to him, the project is not acceptable with those changes. He reminded that the project was developed back in 2017-2018 by then-Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.

“However, the logic related to the day of commemoration was also taken into account within the framework of that project. Now, in this case, why there is such resistance to it is unclear and unacceptable to me. What should it be for such resistance to be exhibited against it—especially after the war?” said the MP.

Vahan Kerobyan also announced that it has been exactly one year since the famous announcement on November 9, which also mentioned a five-year period for certain actions to be taken.

“And it is evident that Armenia must strengthen as much as possible within that five-year period. From that perspective, the expression ‘especially after the war’ we interpret as meaning that we must work as much as possible to strengthen ourselves so that we can overcome the challenges we face. The best way to honor the memory of our fallen brothers is to have a powerful homeland,” said the minister.

It should be noted that on September 16, the government decided to amend the law on “Holidays and Remembrance Days.” According to it, the New Year and Christmas are celebrated from December 31 to January 1 (New Year) and on January 6 (Christmas and Epiphany). These days will be non-working days. January 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 are defined as working days. The government believes that the adoption of the law will ensure the normal operation of socio-economic and financial systems, which will have a positive impact on the volume of trade, industry, services, and other sectors.